


Seducing Aoi

by dreamingofdragons



Category: Jrock, the GazettE
Genre: Anal Sex, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-08
Updated: 2019-01-08
Packaged: 2019-10-06 17:54:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17349851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamingofdragons/pseuds/dreamingofdragons
Summary: Ruki is in love - or some serious lust - with his guitarist. Aoi is showing no signs of scooping Ruki up into his manly arms any time soon. The Gazette beware when the vocalist decides to get creative and drags best friend Uruha into diabolical plots of badger sweat, seafood and love potions!





	1. Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! It's been a long time since I wrote JRock yaoi but when a friend requested that I re-upload my fics from my old LJ account, well, I am a sucker for compliments! So here we are. One of my favourite Gaze fics. I hope you like it!

Ruki loved Aoi. Was that an adequate way of describing it? Ruki loved Aoi! Everything from his calloused guitarist’s hands to his silken, choppy raven hair, to his calm, steady personality and all the way to his sudden smile which lit up his face like paparazzi flashbulbs. He loved the way Aoi was sylph-like slender but still so strong and the way his biceps swelled when he wore a sleeveless vest. When Aoi had been playing for a while Ruki loved it when he put the guitar down and stretched like a cat, his shirt riding up to flash the pale skin of his belly. Aoi was big enough to pin Ruki against the wall and ravish him, with the temperament to make him feel loved and secure and you’d better believe that Ruki was totally in love with all of that. So much so that Ruki had made a decision some time ago. He was in love with Aoi. He only wanted Aoi. And until that changed or Aoi himself made it absolutely, 100% painfully obvious that he would never think of Ruki in the same way then Ruki would keep himself chaste. It was - Ruki congratulated himself - a great plan.

It was the worst plan that Ruki had ever had. Ever. He’d never really paid much attention to how sexual he was, in a band like the Gazette how sexual you had to be. In the past, if he’d felt the need then he’d had sex, end of story. These days it didn’t matter if he had a hard on the size of the Empire State Building, he wasn’t getting any.  
“I’m dying.”  
He whimpered, dropping down onto the sofa and wriggling like an electric eel (the polite way of rubbing the contents of your pants when the more upfront alternative was something that your guitarist definitely did not want to see). “Uruha, for old time’s sake, if you love me at all…”  
“No.”  
Uruha interrupted him, serenely applying a fresh coat of sultry plum lipstick. “I will not do you no matter how long we’ve known each other.”  
“Blow me then?”  
Ruki asked hopefully, rather intrigued by the lipstick. Uruha shot him an amused glance.   
“No.”  
“Hand job?”  
“Ruki!”  
Laughing despite himself Uruha watched as his best friend and vocalist groaned and rolled over onto his back, legs sprawling, hands flung over his tousled raven and blood-red haired head. He would have asked why the man didn’t just pounce on the oblivious guitarist and stick his hands down his pants already because arranged as he was the “why” was obvious: Ruki wanted to be done and he wanted Aoi to do the doing. Pouncing on the man would be totally counter-productive.  
“You know how they say that it takes a man to get a man?  
Ruki mused, chunky platform shoes hanging over the arm of the sofa. “Like regular sex gives you some sort of coital glow that makes you utterly irresistible?”  
“Mmm?”  
Uruha replied somewhat doubtfully. Ruki fixed him with a pair of huge, slyly aware amber eyes.  
“What if the opposite is true as well? If you’re not having sex then the reek of rejection chases away all potential bed partners?”  
He looked appalled. Uruha fought to hide his smile.  
“I wouldn’t worry too much.”  
He said gently. “Aoi has known you both ways and it doesn’t seem to matter what glow or reek you’re giving off.”  
“Huh.”  
Ruki pursed his lips thoughtfully. “That’s comforting… I think.”  
Falling silent he was clearly thinking things over in his mind and Uruha thankfully went back to rescuing his wilting hairstyle before they started shooting the second part of the PV.  
“But why doesn’t he want to fuck me?”  
Ruki exploded just as Kai walked in through the door. The drummer’s eyebrows rocketed into his hairline and Uruha cringed. There were many reasons why the man was their leader however and Kai recovered remarkably quickly.  
“Because he’s blind?”  
He suggested gallantly, squeezing Ruki’s knee in passing. Ruki smiled, eyes half closing with what looked suspiciously like enjoyment of even this simple touch as months of chastity momentarily got the better of him. Stretching sensuously his back arched, his head fell back and as his legs shifted Kai’s fingers were shifted higher up his thigh for one brief moment. If he was radiating anything right now then it sure as hell wasn’t rejection.  
“Ru.”  
Uruha threw one of his hair slides at his head and as it bounced off the spell was broken. Ruki gracefully rose to his feet, smoothing down his PVC trousers and fluffing his hair into something that was a little less “take me now” after all that wriggling around.  
“I’ll try again.”  
He decided and Uruha whimpered softly. Ruki was the master of cunning until results were slow in coming and then subtlety went out of the window. Aoi had been playing hard to get for long enough now that Uruha was truthfully terrified about what Ruki might be forced to do to the poor guy to get his attention. Re-energised by his mission Ruki went slinking out of the door.  
“Oh, Aoi.”  
They heard him purr and Kai grinned.  
“It won’t be long now, hey?”  
He turned to Uruha with a smile. “Who could say no to Ruki?”  
Uruha’s eyes widened a little. There was something in that tone… honest admiration and… more? As though if it were Kai in Aoi’s position, he wouldn’t say no? Uruha looked at Kai with new intensity but the drummer was already pouring himself a cup of coffee, humming softly to himself with soft eyes. Uruha mentally shrugged. He must have been imagining things.

“Oh, Aoi?”  
Ruki leant back against the doorframe, one foot drawn up to press against the wood, hands behind his body. It was a terrifically enticing pose: Ruki knew this. He’d posed like this in Cure magazine and fangirls worldwide spontaneously reached orgasm. Aoi, it had to be said, failed utterly to suddenly cry out in bliss and ruin the pale fabric of his trousers. Looking up with a friendly grin Aoi didn’t even look intrigued! As though sexy poses like this were so commonplace they had long ago ceased to even register! Which, considering the variety of come-hither gazes and pouts Ruki had been shooting his way for the past six months, Ruki was depressed to realise might very well be the case. Time to step it up a gear. Putting everything into his walk Ruki sauntered over to the older man and ran his fingers lightly over his shoulder.  
“We’re sharing a room tonight.”  
He murmured seductively close to his ear. Aoi twitched, leaning away slightly from the warm breath tickling his skin.  
“Yeah? I’ll be sure to grab a quick shower before you start your whole princess bedtime routine Ru, don’t worry.”  
He flashed his vocalist a teasing grin. Ruki’s made up eyes widened in outrage.  
“Princess bedtime?”  
He yelped, jerking away from his beloved as though he was on fire. The hands-on-hips glare wasn’t half as provocative.  
“Sure, sure. It takes time to smear all that gunk over your face…”  
Aoi began understandingly. Ruki’s amber eyes flared almost demonic ruby.  
“Gunk?”  
He hissed. “Gunk? That is my Y20,000 a pot ultra hydrating Crème de Mer nighttime rescue treatment! That gunk costs more per ounce than your entire damn wardrobe you… you… heathen!”  
And with an enraged growl, he stalked out of the room to rejoin Uruha, who properly understood and appreciated the necessity of Crème de Mer face cream and would commiserate with its vicious slander. Sitting unobserved by Ruki in the corner all the while Reita finished tuning his bass.  
“You’re a dick.”  
He said with amusement. Aoi chuckled.  
“I’d buy him a fresh pot to apologise but apparently I could use the money for, say, a down payment on a house.”  
“Or at the very least a whole new heathen-friendly wardrobe.”  
Reita agreed, grinning. “You know, I have no damn clue why he’s persevering with you. If you gave in he’d be forced to strangle you within a month. Fight the good fight, dude, for the good of the band. Finding a new guitarist would be a bitch.”  
Aoi laughed, picking up his guitar.  
“You’re all heart.”  
He mocked.

“Doesn’t his shameful ignorance on essential skin maintenance give me at least a day off from Aoi-stalking?”  
Uruha asked pitifully as Ruki dragged him down a little side street, checking numbers against a ripped out ad. The two stars were incognito with hats pulled low and scarves up around their noses. In this, they were aided by the weather, which was freezing.  
“He can be educated!”  
Ruki replied with somewhat frightening zeal. “After all, he doesn’t have to use it, just appreciate its effects on me and buy me a pot occasionally. That’s a week’s training, tops. Aha!”  
They had apparently reached their destination. Uruha stared doubtfully at the little store.  
“That’s a porn shop.”  
“Erotic arts!”  
Ruki retorted. “See? Look at the ad! Selling ancient Chinese aphrodisiacs that were essential in aiding fat, jaded emperor’s to get it up once in a while. Aoi will be a breeze in comparison! He’ll be scooping me up into his manly arms before you can say rhino horn.”  
“You’re going to drug him?”  
Uruha yelped, torn between disbelief and amusement. This was extreme even for Ruki. His friend brushed off the accusation with a wave of his hand.  
“No, no!”  
He retorted irritably. “That’s crude. Do you think I’d go to all this trouble just to drug him? I’d just have to buy Viagra off the net and slip it into his drink then offer my assistance when he was so hard that his balls were turning blue.”  
“It worries me that those details were so clear in your brain.”  
Uruha said conversationally.  
“This has subtlety!”  
Ruki insisted and grabbing hold of the tall guitar’s hand dragged him protesting into the “erotic arts emporium”.

“Pheromone spray.”  
The old Chinese guy gently set a cloudy blue bottle attached to an old fashioned perfume atomiser down on the counter in front of the fascinated musicians. “Made from milking the sweat glands of rare Chinese badger in heat.”  
“Badger sweat?”  
Uruha cringed backwards. “Horny badger sweat? Ru, you can’t really be thinking of spraying yourself with this stuff?”  
Fastidious about his appearance and hygiene Ruki was looking a little queasy about the whole concept.  
“And it works?”  
He asked the herbalist. The man nodded serenely.  
“Your body absorbs the spray. During periods of heightened body temperature such as with arousal the spray will mingle with your own pheromones: heightening them considerably.”  
“Put it on after the show then Ru.”  
Uruha drawled, lips twitching. “I can just imagine the headlines tomorrow. “Saitama Sex Stampede: teenage girls say, I just had to have him!”  
Ruki gave a snort of laughter but the herbalist was already shaking his head.  
“Will not work. The spray needs close proximity over a period of time.”  
“How close?”  
Ruki asked worriedly. Sure he might be able to take Aoi by surprise and plop down into his lap but unless he got Aoi into some sort of koala death lock it was doubtful that the man would let him remain there for long. The man considered this.  
“Sitting close by the object of your attention for… thirty minutes. Maybe one hour.”  
“I can sit next to him for an hour, that’s do-able.”  
Ruki relaxed. “Put it on after the show when we go out for drinks, I sit next to him at the table and after an hour he’ll be good to go!”  
“Um… Ruki?”  
Uruha’s eyes had widened. “What if, say, you sat down between Aoi and Reita? Forty minutes go by and suddenly Rei gets all horny and macho dominant?”  
Ruki turned green. He didn’t think much of the thought of Reita getting all fired up and horny on his ass at all. He suddenly beamed.  
“I’m sharing with him tonight! I’ll put it on then. That way there’s only Aoi around to fall for my seductively badger-scented self.”  
Uruha frowned.  
“But if you’re in your bed and he’s in his then how will that count as “close proximity”?”  
“God damn it, all this scheming is giving me a headache!”  
Ruki complained and huffed. “I’ll just have to get in bed with him.”  
“Ru, if it was that easy you wouldn’t need to drench yourself in badger sweat.”  
Uruha said dryly and Ruki gave him a dirty look in response. Tapping his finger against his lips, deep in thought his eyes suddenly began to gleam. Uruha felt a sinking sensation in his chest. He knew that look. That was the look in his eyes when Ruki had forced him to borrow his sister’s school uniform because Nishikido at school “thought he was straight”. Sure enough, the mini skirt, pigtails and makeup had caught his attention but he got one hell of a shock later that night.  
“We’ll take the spray.”  
Ruki told the herbalist. “And we have to quickly stop by the hotel before we go back to the arena.”

Standing in the room Ruki would share with Aoi the vocalist cranked the window fully open, letting in a gust of freezing air. They both jumped back and shivered. Ruki next turned his attention to the heating system. Studying it, he could see the little fan whirring away behind the plastic slats. Flashing Uruha a diabolical grin he took one of the ornately lacquered chopsticks from the tea tray and shoved it in between the slats. There was an evil grinding noise, a high-pitched whine of protest and then a puff of smoke. Silence.  
“Well, that was easier than I thought it would be.”  
Ruki said brightly. Uruha looked at him in disbelief.  
“Kill the heater and open the window? That’s your plan? By the time you get back tonight, it’ll be ten below! Are you hoping that Aoi gets hot for frozen corpses or something?”  
“Frozen Aoi, frozen Ruki. He’ll get so cold he’ll be begging me to get into bed with him and snuggle up!”  
Ruki said triumphantly. “We get a little warmer, the pheromones kick in and banzai baby! Porno love fest!”  
“Or instead of dragging you into bed to act as his hot water bottle you don’t think he’d just do something totally crazy like ring down to reception and tell them that the heater is broken and the two of you are about to die of hypothermia?”  
“Huh.”  
Ruki looked momentarily crestfallen and then grinned. Sauntering towards the wall he crouched down and yanked the phone cord out of the wall with a little puff of plaster dust. Surveying him silently for a moment Uruha draped an arm around his shoulders.  
“You are one scary little fucker.”  
He said simply. Ruki smiled, oozing satisfaction.  
“I prefer to describe myself as “ingeniously enterprising”.”

Bumping into Aoi after the wildly successful show Kai grinned at him.  
“Great show!”  
“The best ever.”  
Aoi agreed and the two clapped hands.  
“Are you coming back to the hotel?”  
“Not just yet. Rei and I thought we’d go out and have a few drinks saying that we don’t have a show tomorrow. Want to come?”  
Kai grimaced. They had played three shows in a row in Saitama and the tendons in his wrists were pure lines of pain. He wanted to do nothing more than wrap the heated bandages around his abused self, snuggle down in bed and sleep like a hibernating bear.  
“Not tonight. You’ll be back late?”  
“Probably. Ruki will spend tomorrow kicking my ass for waking him up.”  
Aoi grinned, looking amused at the prospect. Kai looked thoughtful.  
“Well, I’m sharing with Reita. Why don’t we switch? You two can stagger in whenever you feel like it and Ruki and I can get our beauty sleep.”  
Aoi nodded amiably.  
“That makes sense. Here you go…”  
Digging in his pocket he pulled out his room keycard and handed it to the drummer. Kai gave him his in return.  
“Have fun tonight.”  
“Always.”  
Aoi’s eyes sparkled with the prospect of beer, JD and kicking Reita’s ass at pool. Kai looked equally delighted at the prospect of a whole ten hours deep sleep… and maybe, just maybe the small vocalist that would be sleeping in the next bed.

After showering and washing his hair Ruki styled it to look sexily damp and dishevelled, reapplied just a touch of eyeliner and cherry lip-gloss and then took the blue glass bottle and liberally doused himself. He sniffed vigorously. It had an odd, musky scent but it was faint and after a minute Ruki couldn’t smell it at all. Shrugging, Ruki pulled on the pair of clean, bronze silk boxers he’d had made up when the band toured Thailand last year, gave himself one final check in the mirror sauntered out into the room.

“ARGH!”  
Ruki’s shock was twofold. In his rush to shower and prepare himself before Aoi got in Ruki hadn’t had time to notice the temperature in the room. The cold hit him like a slap, taking his breath away. Secondly, that was definitely not Aoi turning back the sheets of one of the beds.  
“Hey.”  
Looking up Kai gave him a dimpled smile. “Aoi went drinking with Reita and didn’t want to wake you up when he got back, so we swapped.”  
“Oh… that is so thoughtful.”  
Ruki said between gritted teeth. Kai nodded and then grimaced.  
“God, it’s cold in here. I tried to turn the heating up but it didn’t do much.”  
Ruki automatically reached for the phone.  
“I’ll give reception a…”  
Nothing. “…Call.”  
Ruki finished lamely and closed his eyes. He just wanted Aoi to fuck him senseless. That was all! What was with the divine conspiracy to drive him insane with frustration? Would the world fucking end if he and Aoi got sweaty together?  
“I wonder if there’s a problem with the electrics if the heating and the phone are out?”  
Kai mused. “Is the hot water working?”  
“Yeah.”  
Ruki replied mournfully.  
“Well, that’s something at least. You’d better get into bed, Ru. You don’t want to catch a cold.”  
Cold? Cold! Ruki had a sudden vivid image of that frozen corpse Uruha had mentioned earlier. He was going to die! Scrambling into the other bed Ruki pulled the covers up around his nose and shivered.

Get cold enough and your bones ache with it. You shiver so hard your body hurts with the stress. And as for sleeping? Forget it.  
“Ru?”  
That Ruki could hear Kai’s soft enquiry despite the covers pulled up over his head and the castanet chattering of his teeth was a testament to how very awake Ruki was. “Are you alright?”  
“Yes.”  
Ruki squeaked, curled up in a ball so tight that his knees were touching his ears.  
“The hell you are, I can see you shivering from here.”  
“I’m going to die.”  
Ruki moaned. A smile entered Kai’s voice.  
“It would be badly remiss of me as leader to let you die. If you bring your covers over here we can share. It’ll be warmer.”  
Ruki wanted to bounce his own head off the bedside cabinet. You see! Fiendish! A perfect damn plan wasted on the wrong bloody bandmate! And yet Ruki had reached the point of coldness that he would happily have snuggled up with Jack the Ripper for a bit of extra warmth. Grabbing hold of his blankets he dragged them across to Kai’s bed, flinging them across. Kai held the covers up for him and Ruki dived in. Kai yelped when the icy flesh touched him.  
“You’re freezing!”  
Kai wasn’t. By some fluke of being a hyperactive bastard that burned calories like a wood-burning stove he flung out heat like Ruki wouldn’t have believed. Eyes widening in rapturous delight he didn’t hesitate: a scarce second later he was entwined with his leader like two snakes in mating season.  
“Ohhhhhh yeah.”  
Ruki groaned blissfully. Kai’s laughter vibrated through his body.  
“You sure know how to compliment a guy, Ruki.”  
Running his hot hands up and down Ruki’s spine he grinned as the little vocalist gave a low croon of agonised ecstasy. Pressing his frozen nose beneath Kai’s jaw Ruki pondered if he could conceivably be any closer. Truthfully no unless they got x-rated. Frowning for a second Ruki shifted their bodies so that Kai was settled over him slightly, pressing Ruki between blissfully warm Kai and the flesh-heated mattress.  
“I’m not squishing you?”  
Kai asked in the darkness. Right now the close contact with someone so toasty warm was all to the good. Quite frankly Kai could put all of his weight on top of him and splatter him to the mattress like roadkill and Ruki wouldn’t mind.  
“It’s so gooooood.”  
He purred and Kai’s cheek that was pressed against Ruki’s forehead actually increased in temperature, as though he was blushing.

As their shared body heat allowed them to rest, it increased and gradually the pheromones began to escape from Ruki’s heated flesh. Face buried in the silken softness of Ruki’s hair Kai drew the chemicals deep into his lungs with every breath. Shifting against him in the darkness, Kai began to stir.


	2. Badger Me Up, Baby

Snuggly warm for the first time all night and unconcerned with Kai’s weight pinning him to the mattress Ruki had fallen asleep quickly. His dreams were pleasant and scattered: his brain efficiently filing away information from the day. He dreamed of badgers. He was holding one particularly large and furry specimen in his arms and at his feet was a large bucket to collect the sweat for bottling. The badger was wriggling, brushing its wet nose against his cheek and jaw. Ruki giggled at the pleasant tickling sensation, fingers tangling in the soft fur. The badger was growing: from an easy armful it now reached down to his thighs and it was squirming like a damned sea otter, licking at his throat. Ruki’s arms tightened to get a firmer grip and the badger gave a rather odd and most un-badger-like breathy sigh.  
“How am I supposed to milk you if you won’t stay still?”  
He asked in exasperation and suddenly the badger and the bucket melted away, replaced by darkness and a bed and… Kai.  
“Huh?”  
Kai asked, seeming rather startled. As well he should be, Ruki supposed and blushed furiously at the realisation that his leader now thought that Ruki wanted to milk him. He blinked; realising that from slightly leaning on him Kai was now fully over him, propped up on his elbows and in the process of clasping his badger Ruki had his arms wrapped tightly around him. God, this was embarrassing…  
“I’m sorry!”  
He whimpered. “I…”  
“It’s OK.”  
Kai murmured, dipping his head to nuzzle beneath Ruki’s ear and now he was awake it felt nothing like a cold badger snout. Actually felt… kinda good. Mmmm. Kai caught his earlobe between his teeth, nibbling up the rim of his ear before swirling his tongue inside. Now if Ruki had one secret weakness it was for loving attention to his ears and he moaned, hands on Kai’s muscular, bare back urging him closer. This he did and for the first time, Ruki realised that his friend was as hard as advanced algebra. At the first slow rub of flesh against flesh, Ruki groaned, spasming with arousal as Kai’s wet tongue in his ear reduced him to a squirming mass of zero resistance. Long, hard fingers plunged into his hair, easing his head back and Ruki arched up helplessly. Ah yes, another Ruki erogenous zone. Either Kai had a truly uncanny knowledge of what turned Ruki on or he’d spent several years hiding in his wardrobe watching while he had sex.  
“Kai.”  
He groaned and his friend momentarily abandoned his ear to kiss him on the mouth. It was passionate and carnal, their tongues rubbing sensuously together. Still clinging to him, Ruki’s hands went exploring. During costume changes, he’d noticed that Kai had a good body of course. Working out in the gym had lightly defined his abs and stripped any excess pounds off his tall frame. What remained was lean, hard and covered with softer, whiter skin than any man should be allowed to possess. Bigger than Ruki, stronger than Ruki… it was round about that moment that Ruki decided Kai was going to have to fuck him or he'd lose his ever-loving mind. Plunging his hands down the back of Kai’s boxers he cupped the perky little behind that was usually emphasised by Kai’s taste in somewhat bottom-snuggling black trousers. Weird to only just realise how much he had always admired the view. Kai growled, shifting slightly so that he lay fully between Ruki’s legs. Shifting his hips he began to slowly, rhythmically grind himself against the singer in a way that had him breaking out into a sweat and moaning from sheer want.   
“Oh God, yes.”  
“Want you so bad.”  
Kai rasped and put his lips against Ruki’s neglected ear, hot breath puffing against the sensitive skin when he murmured exactly what he wanted to do to him, in graphic and explicit detail. The combination had Ruki’s eyes rolling back in his head, his fingers scrabbling to ease Kai’s boxers down his long legs. God but it had been too long. Ruki wanted it, he wanted it now and he wanted it from Kai with an urgency that frankly shocked him. Reaching down Kai eased one of Ruki’s legs up higher, his knee almost tucked beneath the drummer’s armpit. Strangely relaxed already, when Kai slid inside him the only thing that happened was a wave of pleasure through his whole body. Slipping one hand into Kai’s thick, glossy hair Ruki pulled him down for another open-mouthed, hungry kiss, his free hand wrapped tightly around the other until they had to break apart to draw breath. Driving him hard, the pleasure was beginning to build and it was so damn good Ruki wondered why the hell he’d stopped doing this, Aoi be damned. Teeth latching onto Kai’s neck he sucked hard, filling his mouth with Kai’s taste and the other groaned: his rhythm stuttering.  
“I want to fuck you hard.”  
He breathed against Ruki’s ear. “Let me.”  
The thought that Kai had even more to give was rather intriguing, to say the least. Taking mental stock of his body, trusting that Kai might leave him a little bruised and aching but not actually hurt Ruki nodded. Years of sexy photo shoots, of Ruki slinking around on that stage, sucking on the fingers of those damned gloves, rubbing himself, the way his head fell back sometimes like the release the song gave him was a hundred times better than the real thing… Kai finally cut it loose. What followed was the sort of hot, wild, sweaty porno sex that you get perhaps twice in a lifetime and was impossible to forget. When Ruki came it was like running into a brick wall. He had brain cells that died, it was so good.

Kai was at the counter of Starbucks collecting a dark blend regular coffee for himself and a vanilla cream latte with extra whip for Ruki. Ruki knew this because he was watching him do it. Hell, he couldn’t tear his eyes away from him! Ruki had woken this morning in a sex-tangle of sheets and Kai already in the shower. His body ached deliciously and the air was still heavy with the scent of sex though not, Ruki noticed: badgers. Safe to say that the fucking spray worked, then! The bathroom door opened and Kai emerged; wet haired, pink cheeked and clearly not prepared to look Ruki in the eye just yet. Ruki blinked at him, fighting the urge to laugh. If someone had confessed to him that sometime during the night they had swapped Kai with someone else he would have believed them. It was easier by far to believe that than the fact that his cheerful, dedicated, slightly dorky leader was capable of the kind of sex that Ruki had enjoyed last night.  
“What’s so interesting?”  
Uruha asked, sliding into a chair beside him.  
“What? Oh… nothing.”  
“Then why are you staring at Kai like he’s grown a second head?”  
Uruha was staring at him too by this point and when Kai turned and caught them both he blushed tomato red and hastily fixed his attention on the cold cabinet. Uruha looked suspiciously at his best friend. “OK, Ru, what have you done to our drummer?”  
“I… um… well…”  
Ruki coloured slightly. Looking around suspiciously he leant in towards Uruha. The blonde automatically echoed him. “The love spray.”  
Ruki hissed. Uruha’s beautiful, honey-coloured eyes went round as salad plates.  
“What…? Kai? How!”  
“It isn’t my fault!”  
Ruki’s voice was a restrained shriek. “He and Aoi swapped rooms because Aoi was going out drinking with Rei and by the time I found out about it I was already all badgered up!”  
Uruha was looking slightly stunned.  
“But the proximity issue…?”  
Ruki looked slightly guilty and Uruha groaned, dropping his head into his hands. “Unbelievable.”  
He muttered. Ruki patted his shoulder comfortingly.  
“Are you alright, Uru?”  
A concerned voice asked above their heads and a paper cup of creamy, caffeinated loveliness was set before him. Ruki looked up with a smile of thanks, his eyes met Kai’s and they both turned scarlet.  
“He’s fine.”  
Ruki mumbled.  
“Hey, hey, hey!”  
The appearance of Reita and Aoi was a desperate relief for all three of them. “Good morning rockers! Ready to roll?”  
“Mmmm, coffee.”  
Leaning over Aoi picked up Ruki’s coffee and took a slurp before wincing at the sweetness. “How do you still have any teeth left?”  
He asked curiously. He was wearing black and white, both amazing colours on Aoi. The black made his pale skin gleam like pearls and the white transformed his hair into a shining bolt of sable, his eyes into deep, drowning pools of coffee liqueur. So close to Ruki, he smelled fresh from the shower and that familiar, shivering weakness spilled through him. I do love you so… Aoi smiled down at him.  
“I missed you last night.”  
He teased. “You should have come drinking with us so I didn’t have to swap and I wouldn’t have missed you in curlers and a hairnet.”  
“Screw you.”  
Ruki retorted, smiling and Aoi laughed.  
“Another time. Right now I need coffee. Rei? What are you having?”  
And as the sultry guitarist made his way to the counter Ruki kept his eyes firmly on his cup. This morning he did not want Kai to see him gazing at Aoi. It was purely for social etiquette, nothing more but it mattered to Ruki.  
“Shall we get to the car?”  
Kai asked awkwardly. Looking up at him Ruki had a sudden flashback to last night and his cock twitched, a wave of heat spilling through him. Hastily looking away Ruki scrambled to his feet.  
“Yup! Let’s go!”  
And now he sounded like a cheerleader on crack. Cringing slightly, Ruki led the way outside. At least he knew that it was the love spray that had affected them. Poor Kai must be completely freaked out about why he suddenly found Ruki so irresistible!

“The fish market?”  
Uruha asked hesitantly, wrinkling his nose as his $600 Prada boots from New York came dangerously close to an unmentionable river of blood, slime and fish entrails. Beside him Ruki’s face was just a pair of watering eyes as he buried the lower half of his face deep into his scarf, trusting the lingering traces of Armani Code on the wool to shield him from the reek.  
“Oysters.”  
His muffled voice replied.  
“Oy…? Oh, Ruki! That’s a total myth!”  
“It is not!”  
His friend retorted indignantly. “It’s backed up by science! Oysters have stupidly high levels of zinc which is vital in the production of… you know… man gravy.”  
“Man gravy?”  
Uruha yelped, bursting into fits of laughter. Ruki had the grace to grin.  
“It’s a fabulous plan!”  
He defended himself. “I’ll fix up the dressing room all romantic like, invite Aoi to have something to eat, dish up wonderfully zincy chilled oysters and voila! Instant love fest.” He smiled at Uruha sweetly. “While you, darling, keep Kai and Reita occupied.”  
Uruha looked worried.  
“I will? But how? Kai is busy with his leader thing and you know that Reita and Aoi are glued at the hip just like we are.”  
“Do I have to think of everything?”  
Ruki asked irritably. “Tell them that the rhythm section sucks and they need more practice. Tell them that Aoi and I have just been exposed a deadly disease and need to be quarantined for an hour or two. Lock them in a fucking cupboard for all I care, just keep them away!”  
“OK!”  
Uruha replied, making a peaceful gesture with his hands. Ruki settled like a prize-winning pigeon soothing ruffled feathers.  
“Well, good. Now, did you bring the cooler?”  
“Yup.”  
Uruha brandished the little red cooler used in the old days to keep drinks and snacks cool in their van during long drives between shows.  
“Excellent! Onwards, oyster hunters.”  
And linking his arm through Uruha’s the mismatched duo tripped delicately into the reeking, noisy fish market.

Listening to one incredibly patient man try to tell him the difference between cultured and wild oysters (a great deal of money so far as Ruki could tell) he glanced up to see Uruha looking somewhat troubled.  
“I think I’ll splash out on the wild oysters.”  
He told him. “They’ll be crazy aphrodisiacs. I’ll get Aoi all zinced up and boom!”  
“You know, there’s something about oysters…”  
Uruha’s forehead furrowed. “I can’t quite remember.”  
“Well tell me when you do.”  
Ruki replied kindly, nodding at the man and beginning to negotiate a price. Still looking thoughtful Uruha unintentionally drifted away from his driven friend and was suckered into buying a load of sashimi grade salmon, a bag of spiny sea urchins and 5 mackerels before Ruki rescued him. They looked doubtfully down at their accumulated booty.  
“Seafood platter?”  
“Sounds like a plan.”

It was remarkably difficult to turn a sterile, ugly dressing room into a seductive love nest Ruki considered. And it wasn’t as though he could fling a red scarf over the light or a velvet throw over the ugly couch without alerting Aoi too early and making him run away. Stealth – Ruki told himself firmly – was everything. So he settled for dumping all their stuff onto the chairs to obscure them from view, ensuring that Aoi would have to sit next to him. Such close proximity, should he try again with the love spray? Having a flashback to Kai in the darkness, hands handling him with such sublime confidence and skill Ruki blushed scarlet. Maybe the love spray worked a little too well. No, he would settle for the oysters and his own powerful powers of seduction. So what should this powerfully seductive person wear then? Over time Aoi had seen pretty much everything that Ruki had with him and he hadn’t been overwhelmed by any of it. In fact, had Aoi ever commented on his clothes, ever? Once. The combination of black skinny jeans and that knee-length red and black flannel shirt that Ruki had worn during the second half of the Dim Scene show.  
“This shirt is ridiculously tactile.”  
Aoi had said, pulling Ruki into a hug after the show and stroking his hands down Ruki’s spine while his vocalist’s knees had promptly turned to jelly. Ruki grinned triumphantly. Bingo! The shirt and the oysters working together he’d have Aoi naked and horny within half an hour! Humming former P&S Company label-mates Screw’s Gather Roses happily to himself Ruki dived into the depths of his humongous suitcase in search of his new favourite shirt.

“Aoi?”  
The guitarist looked up and his eyebrows arched. The combination of the unusually soft red shirt, fluffed out hair and heavily made-up eyes seemed to stun him slightly, just for a moment and Ruki fought off the urge to punch the air with triumph. “They made us up a platter of food. Come and have some.”  
“Oh. OK.”  
Amiably Aoi rose to his feet, grinning slightly when Ruki held his hand out with an enticing smile. “I do know where the dressing room is, Ru.”  
He mocked but placed his larger hand around Ruki’s anyway. Their fingers twined together and Ruki knew, just knew that this time it would work. He felt a little emotional he was so delighted  
“Argh!”  
He stopped dead with sheer disbelief. Ruki and Uruha had spent an hour slicing up the salmon and mackerel into sashimi, digging the spiny sea urchins out of their shells and serving the oysters chilled and nicely presented in their shells. Sprawled out on their love couch, flicking pieces of their gleaming coral salmon into his oblivious mouth Reita grinned at them cheerfully.  
“Dude, this is awesome!”  
Ruki was going to murder him and goddamn it, he’d do it slowly! Aoi pulled his fingers free from Ruki’s and flopped down onto the sofa with Reita, leaving the singer no option but to shift the bags off the chair with a sour look on his face and sit there. Reita expertly tipped an oyster down his throat.  
“I hope you choke on it, you bastard.”  
Ruki mumbled.  
“What was that?”  
Reita looked at him curiously and Ruki gave him a sweet smile.  
“Nothing important.”  
He replied and morosely picked up a sliver of mackerel with his chopsticks.

“I’m sorry!”  
Uruha whispered, genuinely distressed. “He got past me.”  
Ruki smiled wryly. All five band members were gathered around the platter. The oysters were history. He only hoped that the fangirls would be grateful for the show they’d put on together; all zinced up and ready to go. Reita stood up and yawned. Rubbing his flat tummy appreciatively he belched vigorously.  
“One hell of a meal! Now if you ladies will excuse me, I have stuff to do before the show.”  
Oh, sure he said that now! After eating Ruki’s love oysters and completely buggering up his plans! The others nodded, each distracted by their own thoughts. Kai was munching on mackerel and making yummy faces – unexpectedly adorable, Ruki noticed – Ruki and Uruha were hissing at each other and Aoi… well, Aoi had gone unusually quiet. Looking at him with concern Ruki noticed the pale, clammy skin of his face.  
“Aoi? Are you feeling OK?”  
The guitarist grimaced, skin draining still further of colour until he was greenish pale.  
“Yeah, I… I’m just gonna use the bathroom.”  
Swallowing hard Aoi rose to his feet. Eyes suddenly widening he made a dash for the toilet and before the door closed entirely they were treated to the pleasant sound of the raven-haired man heaving to put his insides on the outside. Bizarrely Uruha’s face brightened.  
“That’s it!”  
He exclaimed. “I remember now! Aoi is allergic to oysters!”  
Ruki’s head fell back and his eyes closed.  
“Of course he is.”  
He mumbled. “God forbid that with my luck he should be anything else.”

The show went by – barely. Ruki had a whole new appreciation for Aoi’s manliness that he played the full two hours in between dashing off stage to hurl his guts up into a bucket in the wings. White as parchment and wringing with sweat he was marched off by their manager to get checked out at a nearby hospital the moment the show ended. Oh the guilt, the guilt! Perversely, Ruki was feeling pretty good, physically at least. A low-level hum was thrumming through his body and he felt healthy and vital and… well, horny. Clearly, he thrived off hot sex and raw fish. He hadn’t felt so good in a long time.  
“Are you OK?”  
A hand rested hesitantly on his shoulder and Ruki jumped. Stripped to the waist after the show Kai’s hair was damp and curling around his face, the muscles in his torso and arms looking ripped and manly after all the exercise. His broad shoulders tapered down to his narrow hips and the way his trousers were cut Ruki could see the treasure-trail of black hair that led lower. His white skin gleamed with sweat. Ruki bit his lip. Oh dear Lord… “Ru?”  
Concerned, Kai touched his cheek, smoothing some damp strands of hair off his face so he could see him better. Leaning back against the wall, knowing that they were totally shielded from view by the heavy stage curtains, Ruki slowly lifted his hand and rested it over Kai’s on his face.


	3. Aphrodite's Elixer

Ruki slowly lifted his hand and rested it over Kai’s on his face, turning his head at the same time and pressing his lips to the drummer’s palm. The strip of flesh below his fingers was hard with calluses, the hand itself large, tough and steely strong from playing the drums for a living. It was the contrast that did him in, Ruki thought dazedly. Kai being intrinsically kind with a protective, nurturing streak half a mile wide but with a body that was so very capable of, say, pushing him up against this wall right now and physically reminding him how good last night had been. But that was clearly wishful thinking Ruki thought with amused frustration as his friend pulled backwards, looking flustered.  
“I’m sorry, you’ll be worried sick about Aoi and I’m… I’m…”  
Aoi. Considering that it was entirely Ruki’s fault that the sexy guitarist was probably even now in a hospital bed with his head in a bucket Ruki was appalled to realise how completely he had slipped his mind for a minute. He didn’t like guilt, he realised as his insides squirmed slimily. It was so unfamiliar that at first, he thought he was allergic to oysters as well.  
“You didn’t do anything wrong, Kai.”  
He said with a smile, touching his arm in brief reassurance and hastily yanking his hand back when the swell of his hard bicep felt a little too good to him. Kai gnawed on his lower lip, face beginning to colour.  
“But last night…”  
Now it was Ruki’s turn to blush.   
“No!”  
He yelped hastily, utterly mortified that he might be expected to have this conversation while stone cold sober. “It’s OK, Kai. We really don’t have to talk about last night.”  
Looking everywhere but at each other, shuffling their feet and red as tomatoes the two musicians were positively cowering away from each other.  
“So we’re cool?”  
Kai muttered, clearly channelling Reita for a moment and Ruki felt an absurd urge to laugh.  
“Cool!”  
He agreed fervently. “Positively ice box in fact.”  
Kai sighed with relief, though whether because of their insane coolness or the fact that he was just as reluctant to talk about last night as Ruki, who could say?  
“Well then, let’s grab the others and go and check how Aoi is doing?”  
“Hai, Leader-Sama!”  
Ruki saluted smartly and Kai pulled a face at him, smiling. His hand automatically settled on Ruki’s shoulder, guiding him ahead of him and if it felt a little like sparks passed between them then neither of them said a word.

Ruki, Kai and Uruha walked into the cubicle to find Aoi stretched out, hooked up to a drip. He was still pale and sick looking but for the moment his innards seemed content to stay where they were rather than making a mass exodus for the nearest exit. Perched on the edge of the bed talking to him quietly Reita looked up with a smile.  
“Rei!”  
Kai looked startled. “We looked for you but… how long have you been here?”  
“I jumped in the car with Aoi.”  
He said casually. “Poor baby needed someone to hold his hand.”  
He smirked at his friend and a smile lit up Aoi’s wan face. Clearly, he also had enough energy left to flip the bassist off as well. Ruki frowned.  
“I would have held your hand, Aoi!”  
The object of his adoration laughed out loud. “Oh yeah? And then you’d be on a bed next to mine when you fainted at the first glimpse of puke?”  
Ruki cringed even at the thought. Much as he adored the romantic notion of acting as Aoi’s nurse; wiping his fevered brow with a cool cloth maybe or holding a sippy cup to his dry lips the thought of being anywhere near him while he made those exorcist noises was enough to bring Ruki out into a cold sweat.  
“For you…”  
He said weakly and not terribly convincingly. Aoi’s lips twitched.  
“I have duly noted your incredible bravery and sacrifice, Ru.”  
He assured him solemnly and Ruki’s chest puffed out, shooting a gleeful smirk at Uruha. The guitarist rolled his eyes to heaven.  
“So you’ll live then, Aoi?”  
He asked: no more thrilled with bodily functions than his best friend was. Aoi grinned.  
“They’ll finish the drip and send me back to the hotel.”  
Uruha squeezed Ruki’s shoulder and ducked down towards his ear.  
“How about you play nurse Ruki after he’s past the gross stage?”  
He whispered in a way that somehow managed to be entirely obvious to everyone else in the room. Ruki brightened. Get away from the icky stuff and look after Aoi later, when he was feeling a lot better and could, therefore, appreciate Ruki’s dedication. Maybe buy one of those sexy nurse’s uniforms… Yeah! A little light stroking of the fevered brow, a little cosplay followed by a lot of making out: fabulous! Almost chortling with glee at his levels of genius Ruki skipped out of the cubicle, Uruha in hand and so absorbed in his plotting that he actually forgot to say goodbye to Aoi.

The guitarist laughed softly.  
“His devotion is truly a thing of wonder.”  
He murmured. Kai frowned.  
“He wanted to check on you.”  
He snapped. “He was worried. It isn’t his fault that he can’t handle seeing someone being sick.”  
Aoi’s eyes widened.  
“Oh hey! I was just… I was just teasing.”  
He finished lamely. Kai took a slow breath, shooting him an apologetic smile.  
“Sure. I’m sorry.”  
His dark, intelligent eyes lingered on the two other musicians. “Rei? You’ll be staying a while longer I guess?”  
Reita nodded casually.  
“I might as well. He won’t be much longer and this place is wicked dull.”  
Kai nodded thoughtfully, almost to himself.  
“Then we’ll see you back at the hotel. Feel better, Aoi.”  
“Thanks, Kai.”  
And he loped off to catch up with the other two.

Much to Ruki’s disgruntlement the opportunity to nurse Aoi never arrived. In the rotation of hotel rooms Ruki was sharing with first Reita and then Uruha and during the day they were as busy as always which meant that gorgeous, sexy Aoi was as maddeningly unobtainable as always. A week after the disaster with the oysters Ruki was ready to try plan C.

“Uru!”  
Uruha yelped. Snuggled up in bed dreaming happy dreams, to suddenly have Ruki sitting on top of him came as a rather rude awakening. “Come shopping with me!”  
Squinting at his watch through eyes that seemed determined to remain firmly closed, Uruha whimpered.  
“Ruki, its only eight-o-clock! We didn’t get to sleep until four thirty!”  
“I’ve been awake since six.”  
“Oh well, that’s alright then.”  
Uruha replied sarcastically. Ruki’s face transformed into abject suffering: huge Bambi eyes, wobbling lower lip, the full works. Uruha caved.  
“You want to check out Prada’s new line or what?”  
The prospect of buying those really amazing D&G sunglasses perked him up slightly. Ruki gave him his most angelic smile.  
“Sure.”  
He purred. “After a little detour, hmm?”  
“For what?”  
Uruha asked apprehensively. Ruki beamed and pressed a sheet of paper into his face. Squinting at it Uruha’s eyebrows began slowly to climb up into his hairline. “Aphrodite’s Elixir.”  
He read slowly. “The wine of desire that is a gift from the sacred halls of Olympus. What is this?”  
“Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love, see?”  
Ruki explained, so excited that he was bouncing up and down on top of his old friend. Uruha was beginning to go rather cross-eyed. “And this is her drink. Like… a love drink!”  
“Rukiiiiiiii.”  
Uruha whined, covering his face with his hands. “Learn from your mistakes, man! Pouring things down Aoi’s throat ends badly!”  
Ruki peeled his hands away and met Uruha’s exasperated look quite cheerfully.  
“Well, I was cautious too but you make up the recipe yourself and see? It’s totally safe! Red wine as a base liquid and haven’t you seen Aoi knocking back wine a million times before without puking like a garden sprinkler?”  
Uruha had to admit that this was true. “And see, these are just normal herbs that people use in cooking all the time. Look, dill! Didn’t Kai put that on some salmon just the week before we left?”  
Uruha was weakening.  
“So it’s like…herbal Sangria?”  
“Exactly!”  
Ruki got so excited that he sounded slightly orgasmic. Uruha sighed. This would still end badly, he knew. All of Ruki’s more creative plots ended very, very badly! But Ruki had caught him at a time of low resistance and truly, Ruki looked so happy and excited that Uruha hated to rain on his picnic.  
“OK.”  
He sighed. “We’ll go shopping.”  
Ruki gave a yelp of glee and gave Uruha the mother of all smooches right on the mouth. Spluttering and wiping away the mingled tastes of black coffee, cigarettes and Ruki’s favourite beeswax lip balm he pushed the smaller man off and headed towards the shower.  
“U-ru-ru?”  
Ruki called sweetly after him. “Want me to call up some room service for breakfast? They have warm waffles and maple syrup!”  
Truly, Uruha thought as he softened into mush, it was impossible to do anything but adore Ruki unreservedly.

“Ru?”  
Uruha asked as they strolled down a street to where the internet assured them a supermarket could be found. “If you actually start dating Aoi…”  
“It will happen!”  
Ruki assured him fervently. Uruha squeezed his shoulder.  
“When you start dating Aoi…”  
He amended. “Will it… change things?”  
Ruki looked at him in puzzlement.  
“Like how?”  
“Well…”  
Uruha looked troubled. “…Like Saturday shopping and our ice-cream crazes and you might want to see that new Ando Masanobu movie with him…”  
“Never!”  
Ruki gasped, thinking of their favourite movie with the deeply sexy Ando and Ryohei Masuda where they had been convicts in prison and the sexual tension between them had been so blistering that towards the end both Uruha and Ruki had been begging the screen idol to just fling the smaller guy onto the bed and do it already! Truthfully he couldn’t really imagine doing that with Aoi.  
“But you know how he says that we’re OK alone but we get kind of silly together. If you see him more you might have to see me less.”  
Ruki stopped abruptly. The others thought they were silly, Uruha knew: shallow, possibly excluding those times when Ruki was composing lyrics or designing and Uruha was playing. This would have surprised them, maybe.   
“Remember when I was five and you were six?”  
Ruki’s voice was low. “You took your Mom’s lace curtain from home, put it on your head and insisted that I marry you?”  
Uruha’s lips curved upwards ever so slightly.   
“You had to make a ring for me from a flower from the window box and we got my sister to conduct the ceremony.”  
“And then we had cakes.”  
Ruki smiled at him suddenly. “I’m not in the market for a best friend. Every golden moment of my life has you in it. Why the hell would I give that up? We’ll be eighty years old drinking shochu and reminiscing about the glory days at Tokyo Dome with a load of young musicians that listen so politely and then walk away, saying what a couple of old farts!”  
Uruha’s face broke into that dazzling smile, his eyes stinging suspiciously.  
“I guess that after the things you’ve done to me over the years the very least you could do is stay with me until I’m old and grey.”  
“Done to you?”  
Ruki yelped. “You name just one bad thing I’ve ever done to you, Takashima!”  
“Just one? How about measuring our dicks when we were fourteen because you’d seen Donkey Sasaki in the showers after gym class and you were convinced you were abnormally small?”  
“Everyone does that.”  
Ruki replied airily.  
“Yes but not each other’s, you perv! The things you talked me into!”  
“I expand your life.”  
Ruki assured him, grinning up at him. Uruha huffed and rolled his eyes but when Ruki’s fingers twined with his he squeezed them gently, tucking both their hands into his pocket to keep warm.

Bending over a pan of boiling liquid, muttering to each other like two of the witches from Macbeth Ruki and Uruha made up the recipe for Aphrodite’s Elixir. The dill was happily steeping in the warmed red wine – not the expensive stuff. Who wants to ruin a perfectly good Burgundy by throwing a load of herbs into it? This stuff was cheap and potent enough to strip the enamel off your teeth.  
“What does it taste like?”  
Uruha took a tentative slurp and his whole body convulsed.  
“A cheeky little number.”  
He said hoarsely. Curious, Ruki took a swig and his lips peeled back from his teeth. “Cheeky” wasn’t the word.  
“Now I know why it recommends honey to taste.”  
He rasped. Taking a jar of the stuff and plopping in a generous dollop. They exchanged a glance, looked down somewhat dubiously at the steaming dark liquid and then added half the jar.

Aoi sauntered into the room and paused, sniffing.  
“What is that god-awful smell?”  
“Herrrrrbal rrrrrrremedy.”  
Ruki drawled, R’s rolling madly and clueing Aoi in on the fact that he wasn’t entirely sober. “Invigorrrrrrating, rrrrrestorrrrrative and….and…”  
He paused, looking momentarily stumped.  
“Yummy.”  
Uruha said firmly and Ruki beamed.   
“Yummy.”  
He agreed, taking a slurp out of his glass. “An acquired taste but surprisingly moreish.”  
“Harrumph!”  
Uruha cleared his throat noisily, frantically winking at Aoi. Ruki looked mildly curious before his eyes suddenly widened.  
“Ah! In fact, you must have some.”  
He said firmly, slopping a ladleful into a glass and thrusting it towards Aoi. The guitarist flinched away.  
“Thanks so much.”  
He said sweetly. “But oh hell no.”  
“But you must!”  
Ruki insisted. “It’s… it’s…a rescue… remedy…? Yes! To make you feel better after your sickness! We made it for you.”  
He added reproachfully. Aoi gave him a weak smile and reluctantly took the glass. Fixed with Ruki’s expectant gaze he took a cautious sip and gagged.  
“Mmmm, I feel ever so much better now.”  
He assured them, wondering why they were both gazing at him with drunken, anticipatory fascination.  
“Do you feel... good, Aoi?”  
Ruki purred, attempting to slink towards him in his most coquettish manner and almost falling flat on his face.  
“Never better.”  
Aoi replied and ran away before they could get any weirder.

“Did you tell them about the party?”  
Kai asked Aoi when he returned. Aoi shook his head.  
“They were sort of distracted. I say we just throw them into the car and surprise them with it. Hey Kai, do something with this, will you? Ruki made me up a rescue remedy but it tastes like ass and I don’t want to hurt his feelings.”  
Kai took the glass automatically.  
“Ruki did that?”  
His face softened. “That’s such a lovely thing to do.”  
“He’s an angel dressed as a pussy cat, to be sure.”  
Aoi drawled. Kai took a sip, winced and then another one. Aoi watched him with amusement.  
“Can you feel it doing you good?”  
He mocked softly. Kai knocked back another gulp, looking thoughtful.  
“Actually once it makes your tongue go numb it really isn’t that bad.”  
Aoi rolled his eyes so hard they almost fell out of his sockets.  
“Five minutes? You get the drunken darlings and I should probably drive.”  
Kai polished off the last of the wine and burped discreetly.  
“Five minutes!”  
He agreed.

Propped up against the car Reita and Aoi watched as the inebriated trio staggered towards them. As the soberest, Kai had his arm around Ruki’s waist and Uruha draped over his shoulders. Uruha was clutching the bottle of “Rescue Remedy” and attempting to splash some into the three glasses that Ruki was clutching.  
“Parrrrrrty?”  
Ruki burbled in a vaguely quizzical tone. Reita was grinning openly.  
“Sure. It’s Mizuki’s birthday, from Sadie? He’s invited everybody. It should be fun.”  
Aoi opened the back door.  
“In you get.”  
Ruki peered at the door and an expression settled on his face like a toddler attempting nuclear physics. As the simple act of sliding onto the seat seemed beyond him he simply dove forward, skidding across the leather seat on his belly. Laughing his ass off, Reita was almost doubled up with hilarity as Uruha delicately lifted Ruki’s socked feet and slid in after him.  
“Where are your shoes, Ruki?”  
Kai asked fuzzily.   
“Shoooooooes.”  
Ruki burbled blissfully and giggled. Aoi shut the door after them.  
“We are dumping them the moment we arrive.”  
He told Reita. The bassist cackled.  
“Oh hell yeah.”

Ruki was feeling good. Drunk as a skunk the surprisingly effective qualities of Aphrodite’s Elixir was stealing through his bloodstream, making him feel warm and happy and horny. Taking the now empty bottle off him Mizuki paused and looked at it thoughtfully, a sudden mischievous grin lighting up his face.  
“Hey, guys!”  
He called out and someone obligingly turned the music down. “It’s my party and I want to play party games. Make a circle, kids. We’re going to play Spin the Bottle.”  
“Are you getting youngster instead of older, Mi?”  
His vocalist, fiery blonde Mao mocked. “I haven’t played that since high school.”  
“Well, then we’ll make it fucking X-Rated!”  
Mizuki replied, laughing. “Instead of kissing we’re talking tongues, hands on body, a full five minutes of blatant exhibitionism if you’re picked.”  
Ruki’s Elixir-heated blood seemed to burn. Five minutes. Blatant exhibitionism. Aoi!  
“I think it’s a great idea!”  
He whooped and others picked up the war-cry. Sitting cross-legged on the floor in a circle Ruki discovered that his sexy, sexy guitarist was almost directly opposite him. Ruki gave him a perverted grin. Come to daddy!


	4. Tripped and Fell

Ruki sat opposite Aoi in the circle for Spin the Bottle and leered lecherously at the gorgeous guitarist. Oh yeah, tonight was the night baby! With the awesome potency of Aphrodite’s Elixir running through his veins Aoi would be so pumped up and ready to go that all he’d need was an opportunity and he’d fall upon Ruki like a hungry monkey. Ruki shivered pleasurably. This time he was sure, this time nothing would fail! It would just be him, Aoi and the sort of sex that porn sites charged double for. And after waiting so damn long then that was exactly the sort of sex that Ruki deserved, damn it! No wham bam thank you mistah tonight! Hell no! Aoi was going to have to put in the performance of a lifetime! This was going to have to be some spectacular filthy, athletic fucking that merited a “caution, only attempt this if you are in great shape and extremely limber” rating in the Karma Sutra. Ruki suddenly hesitated. Was he limber enough, never mind Aoi? It had been a while since he’d tried to wrap his own ankle around his neck. Damn, never should have quite those yoga classes; the Downward Facing Dog would come in really handy round about now… Oh well, never mind. Ruki was surely not going to suggest to a rampant Aoi that they delay for a further month or two while he resumed his yoga classes and perhaps worked off that podgy bit on his hips and tummy. Maybe they could forget the athleticism for tonight. Certainly, the most strenuous activity that he’d seen Aoi partaking in during the last couple of months was reaching for his beer bottle. Ruki would hate to kill him. At the mere thought, Ruki gave a delighted chuckle and rubbed his hands together in anticipatory glee. He promptly keeled over sideways onto the man sitting cross-legged beside him, finding himself gazing up into a pair of rich brown eyes that were infinitely patient, wondrously kind and good… with a core of deep, extremely well-concealed wickedness that made Ruki look like a choir boy. Remembering exactly how that wicked streak tended to reveal itself in Kai Ruki felt himself growing hard.  
“I’m really horny.”  
He told his band leader quite without shame. Kai looked mildly surprised.  
“Me too, now that you mention it.”  
“Me three!”  
Uruha admitted from Ruki’s other side, discreetly adjusting the crotch of his tight trousers. Ruki gave a sigh of sheer drunken happiness.  
“It’s going to be a very good night.”  
He predicted, snuggling contentedly between the two taller men.

Across the circle, sitting next to Aoi Reita lifted one eyebrow at the sight of his vocalist’s lascivious, slightly cross-eyed leer.  
“Is that directed at you personally or should we all be worried?”  
He murmured to his friend. Aoi glanced at Ruki and his lips twitched.  
“Either way I think that I’ll ignore him and hope that the scary man goes away.”  
He replied, grinning as Ruki suddenly keeled over onto Kai. The band leader didn’t seem to be overly concerned by it; wrapping his arm around the petite singer’s back to support him. “You know Rei; I think that our fearless leader might have kind of a thing for Ruki.”  
He mused speculatively. Reita looked interested.  
“Yeah?”  
“Well considering where Ruki has his hand right now you’d better hope that he does!”  
Reita gave a snort of laughter when he finally noticed what Aoi was talking about. In a move to steady himself Ruki had cheerfully plunged his hand between Kai’s thighs, his wrist looking dangerously close to the swelling in Kai’s trousers.  
“Tonight should be even funnier than I first thought.”

The “X-Rated” Spin the Bottle was causing much hilarity. Depending on who was paired together they were getting everything from mildly embarrassed, lack-lustre groping to stuff that was possibly illegal in some countries.  
“Saga!”  
They cry went up with a whoop of glee. Caramel eyes hot and languorous Alice Nine’s sexy bassist smiled faintly as he waited to see who he would be paired with. His lips paired with a definite look of intrigue as the bottle slowed and finally landed on a tall, stunning honey blonde.  
“Uruha!”  
Drunk, drugged and by now so painfully aroused that his trousers were being tested to their limits Uruha looked thoughtfully at Saga. They knew each other extremely well: had worked in the same company for years and got drunk together more times than Uruha could remember. He’d always thought that the guy was hot. Not enough to actually do something about it… but suddenly Uruha was struggling to think exactly why that was. Quite frankly it was a case of sexy man, has cock, will do and Uruha rose fluidly to his feet, wrapping himself around the other.  
“Hi.”  
He breathed and kissed his former PS Company musician with such enthusiasm that Saga was left reeling.

Ruki watched with hooded eyes as the two beautiful men twined together like snakes. There were hands everywhere, clothes being pushed aside to reveal perfect, pale skin and while he’d never in his life described Uruha as a dominant anything he was surprising him tonight! His hands were plunged back the back of Saga’s trousers, exposing the sleek, pale curve of his ass to the world. Saying that though once Saga had got over the shock he was recovering nicely; kissing Uruha in a carnal tangle of tongues and thrusting his thigh between the taller mans' in a way that had him giving a low, desperate moan.  
“Gotta pee.”  
Ruki said abruptly. If he watched any more of this then his balls were going to explode like Vesuvius. New plan of action: relieve a little tension in the bathroom and then leap on Aoi or risk reacting like the world’s stinkiest, ugliest teenager given his first hand-job the moment Aoi brushed his fingers over him.  
“I’ll come with you.”  
Kai said amiably. Ruki looked at him incredulously. Couldn’t he understand guy speak? What the hell did he want to come to the bathroom with him for? For one the Gazette had never exactly been enthusiasts of communal peeing and second the floorshow that Uru and Saga were putting on should have him glued to his seat, at the very least because he was so hard that he couldn’t actually walk. Enlightening him to this in front of everyone seemed too embarrassing though, especially as one half of the floorshow was his lifelong best friend. An interesting point actually: did this make him a bad person? Oh, that god damn love potion! Where was the sense? The rationality? Ruki was like this a few tester sips and it had clearly kicked in for Uruha! Aoi was the one who’d knocked back a full glass of the stuff. Why wasn’t he even now flat on his back, balls out, straining towards the ceiling like the Eiffel Tower as he sprayed his man juice around the room like a veritable Yellowstone Park geyser of jizz? Failing utterly to notice the glitter in the dark eyes of the man behind him Ruki led the way towards the bathroom.

Ruki squeaked as Kai suddenly caught hold of his hand and pulled him sideways into one of the rooms.  
“This will do.”  
Kai said thoughtfully, looking around. Ruki echoed him in surprise. For what?! Granted Mizuki’s bedroom seemed nice enough – albeit not a place that he’d ever had any intention of visiting – but he had no idea why they were in here. Did Kai fancy some al fresco peeing off the balcony or something? Erm… no, he clearly didn’t. Pushing Ruki back against the wall he leant into him with his taller, stronger, harder body and gently brushed the hair off Ruki’s flushed face.  
“Don’t take this the wrong way…”  
The drummer said conversationally. “…But if I don’t fuck you right now I’m going to die.”  
Ruki’s eyes widened into soup plates of pure disbelief, then belatedly felt the proof of this statement pressing rock solid and potent against his stomach. Like this, he could feel every muscle in Kai’s body, just how much stronger the drummer was than him and the desire that he had buried after discovering that Kai could shake his world to ruins broke free with a ferocity that allowed no refusal. Slipping his hands beneath Kai’s arms and splaying his hands on that hard, muscular back Ruki looked up at his leader with parted lips and desperate eyes: the amber irises almost entirely swallowed by hungry black.  
“Well if you really must.”  
He replied charitably, arching up with a shuddering whimper of need and arousal.

“Oh…! Oh God, yes! Kai!”  
Recognising Ruki’s voice as he walked past to get to the bathroom Aoi paused abruptly, eyebrows winging when he heard the particular name that Ruki was crying out. Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me?! “Oh yes! So good. Right there, right…”  
Aoi was curious as Ruki’s voice abruptly stopped. Either Kai had missed the mark entirely – and in that case, Kai had better leave the country because knowing Ruki the whole band would soon learn exactly how inept the poor guy was – or he’d succeeded so spectacularly that for the first time in his life the small vocalist had been struck completely speechless. Oh… no way. They had to be messing with him, right? They’d seen him coming and decided to put on a show? No way were his drummer and singer even now getting down and dirty in Mizuki’s bedroom! Aw hell, Aoi just had to check! Hesitantly pushing at the door it swung open slightly. Oh... fuck. They weren’t messing with him, nuh uh, not at all. Not unless both of them were prepared to quite extraordinary lengths to continue their joke anyway. Bent over a chest of drawers Ruki’s reflection was caught in the mirror propped up just in front of him. Option b) Aoi thought dazedly as his eyes glued on the way Kai had one hand tangled in Ruki’s hair, controlling him, forcing him to watch them in the mirror and the way Ruki was breaking down, face transformed with a look of ecstasy that had grown too intense to bear. Definitely option b) Kai was not missing the mark. Christ no. By that shattered look on Ruki’s face, Kai was achieving whole new heights of amazing. Painfully aroused, stunned and somehow... jealous Aoi felt his breath coming faster, his cock hardening in a way that it failed to do at the scenes during Spin the Bottle. His hand dropped helplessly down over himself, a shudder of pleasure rushing through him at the contact as he watched Kai’s hips snap forward, drawing a small, helpless sound from Ruki’s lips.  
“Kai!”  
Kai ducked his head, putting his lips to Ruki’s ear. Aoi only caught a fraction of the hot, dirty things Kai was whispering to his lover but it was driving all three of them closer and closer to the edge.  
“God, Ruki.”  
Kai gasped, arms wrapping around the smaller figure to pull him closer, pulling him up and back to impale him deeper upon Kai’s length. Ruki cried out in bliss, stretching up against Kai and wrapping one arm around his neck. Perfectly presented for Aoi’s frantic gaze his partially unbuttoned shirt and loosened pants showed glimpses of white skin, perfect parts that for the first time ever had Aoi aching with the need to have Ruki beneath him, crying out his name. Sorry, Kai but screw you, it was always me that he wanted! And as though in approval Ruki’s body stiffened, eyes rolling back in a look so sexy, so utterly uninhibited that Aoi was thrown headfirst into orgasm.


	5. The Mantle of Forgetting

:Two hours of blissful slumber was rudely interrupted in the middle of the night by an outraged shriek right by his ear.  
“My bed you… you… fornicating chimpanzees! Those are brand new sheets and they were meant for me! You know what choice you’ve given me now, you bastards? Either sleeping on my old sheets on my birthday or sleeping in your unthinkable leavings!”  
“Huh?”  
Ruki sat bolt upright and then groaned, clutching his head and subsiding with a whimper. Beside him, a tousle-headed and quite phenomenally naked Kai twitched the covers so that they covered everything essential. Cute, Ruki found himself thinking. He doesn’t want Mizuki to see my winkie.  
“So sorry.”  
Kai said, morning raspy in a way that made him sound quite deliciously manly. “We’ll get up right away.”  
For a moment he and Mizuki eyeballed each other and then the guitarist huffed in outrage.  
“Banished from my own bedroom!”  
He hissed and flounced out of the door.

Ruki felt himself blushing, terribly aware of his naked body beneath the sheets and the fact that tonight lingered in his state of utterly satiated languor. He shot Kai a look from beneath his lashes, found his friend looking right back at him and promptly turned scarlet with confusion.  
“Ruki…”  
The drummer said hesitantly. “…About tonight. I...”  
“Hey Ruki, I… oops!”  
Uruha charged into the room wearing nothing but a caramel-coloured shirt that definitely wasn’t his, endless legs like a racehorse and unusually fluffy hair falling into his sleepy topaz eyes. The three of them froze and stared at each other.  
“I need a shower.”  
Ruki said brightly, standing up and pulling the sheet with him to twine around him like a toga. Uruha’s eyes widened as he yelped.  
“Ruki!”  
Belatedly realising that there was only one sheet and Kai was quite as naked as he was, Ruki sighed. He was the one that both had them had already seen naked. Dropping the sheet he grabbed the nearest item of clothing from the floor and knotted it around his waist. “I’ll come with you!”  
Uruha bleated.  
“Fucking hell did I miss the memo that says we’re not allowed to go to the bathroom by ourselves any more?”  
Ruki hissed, much to his friends’ bewilderment. Uruha shot Kai a mortified smile and scuttled after his best friend.

“Will you please stop jumping into bed with our drummer?”  
Uruha asked with exasperation once they were showered, dressed and had taken refuge in a late night coffee house across the street while Kai did the same. “The guy will be getting seriously the wrong idea!”  
“I don’t jump!”  
Ruki protested. “I… um… trip.”  
Their eyes met.  
“You trip.”  
Uruha repeated flatly. Ruki squirmed.  
“Yeeeees? And fall.”  
“You trip, fall and conveniently land on his cock?”  
“Well, it does make a larger than average target.”  
Ruki mumbled. Uruha yelped and hastily covered his ears.  
“Not listening, la la la.”  
He sang. “I absolutely did not hear you say that my drummer; sweet, innocent Kai is hung like a donkey.”  
Ruki tilted his head quizzically to one side.  
“Why on earth wouldn’t you want to know that?”  
He asked in astonishment. “I’d want to know that if it hadn’t been me venturing into unknown lands to make the discovery.”  
“Because they’re forbidden unknown lands, is why.”  
Uruha told him. “That is a forbidden penis.”  
Fascinated, Ruki edged closer to him.  
“A forbidden penis?”  
“Certainly. Kai is my Leader-Sama. For all intents and purposes, he’s as smooth as a Ken doll down there in my imagination. Like… like…”  
Uruha momentarily ran into problems. Offhand he could not think of a single guy whose cock Ruki would not happily dwell on. Then he had a moment of enlightenment. “…Reita!”  
He declared triumphantly. “Now right this very moment I order you to think about Reita’s trouser meat.”  
Ruki winced.  
“Must I?”  
He asked squeamishly, looking like he was trying desperately to think of anything but. Uruha was curious. Reita was hot and terrifically seme; anyone would think that he was the stuff that Ruki’s dreams were made of but noooooooo, for some bizarre reason the slightest suggestion of getting squishy with the bassist made Ruki dive under the bed in horror.   
“Forbidden penis.”  
Uruha said wisely, flushed with success. It wasn’t often he won an argument with Ruki so conclusively. And then he spoiled it. “Like you really wouldn’t want to know about Saga.”  
Ruki’s eyes lit up, his grin positively diabolical.  
“Actually…”  
“No.”  
Uruha replied, cursing himself and his awesome stupidity.  
“U-ru-ru…”  
“No!”  
“Puh-leeeeeeeeze?”  
Ruki wheedled, snuggling up to his side and tucked his hand through Uruha’s arm. His fingers traced patterns on his friend’s thigh. “I won’t tell anybody.”  
Weakening, Uruha glanced at his best friend. Ruki fluttered his eyelashes.  
“You won’t tell Saga that I told you? Even when you’re totally wasted and hate him because he’s said that Shou is a better singer than you?”  
“Golly no.”  
Ruki purred, so fantastically angelic that Uruha was quite frankly amazed he didn’t sprout wings and start playing the divine chorus from his butt. He caved. It wasn’t like he hadn’t been dying to tell him all about it ever since he woke up anyway.  
“He’s totally shaved down there.”  
He whispered and Ruki made a cooing noise of utter glee.

“My table!”  
“I’m sorry!”  
“My kitchen table, you bastard! How am I supposed to eat there now?”  
Curious, Kai poked his head around the kitchen door. In full rant, Mizuki shot him a dirty look. “And don’t think that I’ve forgiven you yet, either.”  
Saga looked relieved that someone else had distracted Mizuki’s ire from him. Leaning against the work surface, smoking a cigarette Mizuki’s band mate and long term boyfriend Tsurugi winked at him and Kai hid a smile.  
“Can I get that ride with you now, Saga?”  
He asked politely. “Aoi is long gone.”  
“Because he had the manners to go home without contaminating people’s household furnishings!”  
“Right away!”  
Saga replied hastily before Mizuki got going again. Fishing his car keys from his pocket he scuttled past the incensed guitarist. “Ready Kai?”  
“Thanks for your hospitality, Mizuki.”  
Kai said politely, on automatic pilot and winced inwardly when Mizuki turned purple and puffed up like a blowfish. Laughing helplessly Tsurugi hastily waved them off.

“Phew.”  
Saga sighed with relief. “I thought he was going to beat me to death with his rolling pin. Thanks for rescuing me.”  
“No problem.”  
“Uruha ran for it the moment he got started. I suppose he’ll be long gone by now?”  
“He’ll be with Ruki.”  
Kai said with resigned certainty. “And Ruki is waiting at the coffee shop across the road.”  
“And why is this a bad thing?”  
Saga looked confused.  
“You’ll see.”  
Kai said wearily.

They walked into the coffee shop. Ruki and Uruha were sitting almost nose to nose, whispering frantically to each other with the occasional helpless burst of laughter erupting from them. Saga flushed and tugged uneasily at his collar.  
“Why do I feel oddly uncomfortable?”  
Because it’s you they’re whispering about, you poor bastard and by the time I go on stage tomorrow night I’ll know more than I ever wanted to about how you do the nasty. Weirdly I find it inexplicably adorable that Ruki is so appalling at keeping secrets it’s as though he’s permanently strung up in a torture chamber with electrodes connected to his balls and a sinister figure saying “Ve haff vays of making you talk” in the background.  
Kai smiled inwardly. Ah, they had been noticed. Smiling sweetly Ruki rose to his feet, beckoning them over.  
“Kai! Saga! Shall we eat while we’re here? This place serves pasta that smells like heaven.”  
Kai strolled over to join them, slipping into the space beside Ruki.  
“Whatever you want.”

It turned into a very extended late night snack. Stuffed full of enough pasta to sink a battleship but quite incapable of refusing dessert, all of it washed down with beer Ruki couldn’t remember ever laughing so much. Leaning back his body touched Kai’s and for a moment he held very, very still. When Kai didn’t move away he slowly leant back a little more. Kai shifted, the arm he had draped along the back of the sofa casually shifting to rest over Ruki’s shoulders.  
“Did we ever tell you about the time we bumped into Saga and Nao in Akihabara?”  
Ruki asked, his hand oh so casually settling on Kai’s knee.  
“Tell me.”  
Kai invited, fingers idly caressing Ruki’s shoulder in a way that made his blood feel fizzy. So he did, sharing the story with Uruha in the way that drove Aoi insane, and Kai laughed, his eyes shining.

They walked back to the hotel afterwards, though Saga had offered to give them a ride with Uruha. It was a beautiful night, crystal clear with the air so clean it was like sipping icy champagne. With the unfortunate side effect that it was in fact cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey.  
“My bright ideas.”  
Ruki moaned, his teeth doing a credible impression of Spanish castanets. Kai grinned.  
“You feel the cold so easily. It’s pretty mild tonight.”  
Ruki shot him an incredulous glance. “Are you a secret alcoholic? Is your blood neat booze? It’s freezing, you freak of nature!”  
Laughing, Kai grasped hold of Ruki and pulled him in against his body, wrapping his leather jacket around them both.  
“A little better?”  
Ruki was startled. They were neither drunk, drugged nor badger-scented but Kai was still… Kai still wanted to…? And more to the point, he still wanted to respond. Ruki wrapped his arms around Kai’s slim waist and felt his incredible body heat begin to seep into him. With a purr of delight, he abandoned all thoughts of personal space and plastered himself against his drummer. Kai looked down at him steadily, a half smile teasing his lips.  
“You like me.”  
Ruki realised, rather astounded. Not that he thought that he was unlovable by any stretch of the imagination: truly it would be some lucky bastard’s privilege to be allowed to worship and adore him unconditionally one day, but he had always assumed that that lucky bastard would be Aoi.   
“I like you.”  
Kai agreed softly and the strangest thing happened inside Ruki’s chest, his heart at once melting and growing wings.  
“I… like you too.”  
Ruki said, even more astonished to realise that this was true. Kai’s smile deepened, flashing dimples now.  
“That’s good.”  
He murmured and ducking his head pressed his lips to Ruki’s in a kiss that had him swooning in his leader’s arms like an old fashioned southern belle.

“Uruha!”  
“What is your issue you... you… sleep policeman!”  
Uruha whined, trying to snuggle back down again. “I will not die if I get eight hours a night!”  
“But I’ll die if I have to wait eight hours to tell you what just happened!”  
Ruki squeaked excitedly, burrowing under his friend’s blankets until they were nose to nose. Uruha’s eyes snapped open.  
“Something happened?”  
He asked. Ruki nodded energetically. Uruha moaned. “Oh God, you did it again, didn’t you? You tripped and fell up against a tree somewhere on the way home.”  
“I did not!”  
Ruki yelped in outrage and just when Uruha wondered if he should apologise for dissing his best friend’s morals, added practically, “It’s way too cold to fool around outside right now.”  
Uruha rolled his eyes so vigorously they actually hurt. Suddenly serious Ruki looked uncertainly at his friend. “Uru… could I date Kai, do you think? Could that work?”  
Startled, Uruha looked at him properly.  
“You like him?”  
Ruki shrugged sheepishly. “Well, it’s not like he’s ugly or anything.”  
He mumbled. Uruha was starting to smile.  
“What about Aoi?”  
Aoi the man that you had taken a painful amount of trouble trying to entice, he would have added, had he not adored his best friend quite so much. Ruki gnawed on his lower lip.  
“Uru…”  
He said gravely as though he was about to tell him something terribly secret and important. Uruha’s eyes widened. “…I am starting to think he is not quite a desperate for me as I once believed.”  
Uruha rubbed his arm sympathetically.  
“Oh, surely not?”  
He commiserated. “I never knew that Aoi was brain damaged but he surely must be if that is true.”  
Mollified, Ruki nodded bravely.  
“Obviously there was an accident before we met him that he never told us about.”  
“A devastating knock to the head that rendered him partially blind and without taste.”  
Uruha agreed. Comforted, Ruki snuggled up against him.  
“Kai said he likes me.”  
He whispered. Draping an arm over the small body Uruha smiled into his hair.  
“Kai always has been a very smart guy.”

“Rose quartz!”  
Ruki announced triumphantly. Dragged in his wake Uruha whimpered softly.  
“Oh God no…”  
Osaka was a fabulous place to shop. Uruha knew this. He also knew that right now he could be trying on a fabulously flattering pair of Armani jeans if his friend hadn’t developed a sudden fascination with crystal therapy. Rubbing his forehead he asked pitifully, “Why do you want rose quartz? I thought you’d decided to give up on Aoi.”  
“Oh, I have.”  
Ruki agreed nonchalantly. “The rose quartz is for Kai. The stones of true luuuuuurve, you know. Nice to go into a relationship with the right mindset.”  
“He’s already said that he likes you! What more do you want from the poor guy, a proposal of marriage?”  
Uruha screeched. Ruki looked around in embarrassment at the many fascinated eyes currently glued on them.  
“I just want to make sure that his intentions towards me are pure.”  
He said primly. Uruha’s jaw dropped.  
“The guy that wanted Aoi to wear him like a hat wants Kai to have pure intentions?”  
Ruki elbowed him in the stomach with a wounded scowl.  
“Do you want me to be used, abused and heartbroken?”  
Uruha opened his mouth, caught Ruki’s outraged glare and hastily shut it again.  
“Kai doesn’t really strike me as the using and abusing type, Ru.”  
“Well, we didn’t have any idea that he was a wildcat in bed and hung like an elephant!”  
Ruki retorted triumphantly “Who knows what other secrets he’s been keeping?”  
“Oh hellfire, if I let you buy the bracelet will you please stop telling me about him?”  
“I am a total gentleman. I never kiss and tell.”  
Ruki assured him haughtily. “And while we’re at it we should make sure that Saga’s intentions towards you are good as well.”  
“I kind of hope that they’re not.”

“Hey Ruki I… oh fuck me!”  
Aoi stopped dead, his face breaking into a wide grin before he hastily composed himself. Ruki was not yet dressed for the show tonight, still wearing tight black jeans and a black sweater. All the better to show off the fact that he was dripping in jewellery: bracelets, necklaces, earrings and 5 whopping rings on his fingers. And all of it, all of it, was pink. Looking a little startled by his greeting Ruki looked down at himself to see what the problem was, brushing non-existent fluff off his jeans while the stones dangling from his ears by delicate silver chains swung gently back and forth. Aoi cleared his throat.  
“You look different today, Ru.”  
He said with a straight face. “I can’t figure out what it is. Is that by any chance a new ring?”  
“Yes!”  
Ruki yelped happily, holding out his hand so that Aoi could admire it better. Taking hold of it Aoi brushed his thumb over Ruki’s knuckles, something about the wide, amber eyes and glossy lips reminding him of last night and making him ache all over again. Still holding onto the small singer’s hand he stepped closer to him.  
“You look good.”  
He said softly. Ruki looked stunned and then a look of growing incredulity, realisation and glee broke across his face. He beamed down at his new ring like it was part of the crown jewels.  
“Thank you!”  
He replied, chortling. Aoi stepped even closer and Ruki abruptly stopped laughing.  
“It’s been a long time since we’ve spent time together. How about we go out tonight after the show?”  
Ruki’s lips turned down.  
“Because Reita teases me when I order a cocktail and calls me Rukins.”  
He said sourly. Aoi quickly stifled a snort of laughter.  
“No Reita. Just you and me.”  
Standing very, very close by now Aoi could see the pulse in Ruki’s throat fluttering frantically like a trapped butterfly. Putting his free hand to Ruki’s face he ran his hand through his hair. “Alone.”  
He purred huskily. Ruki was almost stuttering, his eyes huge with .confusion.  
“I… uh… I…”  
Aoi cut him off abruptly, pressing him up against the wall with his body.  
“Yes?”  
He asked softly, drinking in his confusion and apprehension. Ruki looked back up at him; pupils dilated and lips parted.  
“Yes.”  
He whispered.

“You… what?”  
Uruha’s topaz eyes widened in disbelief. “Aoi invited you out to be alone and you agreed? What about Kai?”  
Ruki looked somewhat shifty.  
“Erm… Well, I was kind of hoping that he wouldn’t actually find out.”  
“He isn’t fucking blind, Ruki!”  
“I know that! But there’ll be nothing to see, you see!”  
Ruki replied triumphantly. “I go out with Aoi tonight and then tomorrow everything will be super normal! With the added benefit that I have that little Aoi thing out of my system, hmm?”  
“You want to screw Aoi and then dump him tomorrow?”  
Uruha whimpered, reeling. Ruki beamed proudly, delighted at his flash of genius and then yelped when Uruha smacked him over the head with a magazine. “Bad Ruki! Bad!”  
“Not bad.”  
Ruki defended himself and then winced at his best friend’s incredulous expression. “Somewhat ethically challenged, I grant you but…”  
His smile suddenly morphed into something so angelic that Uruha could hear choirs of angels in the background. Talking with Reita Kai smiled back at the two sweetly beaming musicians. Nothing happening over here, no sir! We’re so sweet you could crumble us on top of strawberries and just yum us down! The other two walked past and Uruha’s smile dropped quickly.  
“Let me spell this out for you.”  
He whispered hysterically to his friend. “You sleep with Aoi and then drop him. Tomorrow we have one pissed off guitarist who makes one hell of a scene which the not-at-all-deaf Kai overhears. Cue one unhappy boyfriend. Whilst being savaged by two not-unreasonably irritated band mates little Ruki gets a tad upset. Best friend Uruha is therefore compelled to wade into the whole mess to rescue him and before you know it we’re all slapping each other, pulling each other’s hair and giving it “Bee-atch! He ain’t yo baby daddy”!”  
Uruha tossed back his long golden hair and adopted a suitably gangsta expression. Ruki dissolved into helpless laughter. Sagging against his friend he reached up and stroked his cheek gently and gazed up at him with delight.  
“I do absolutely adore you, Uruha Takashima.”  
Uruha braced himself against the perils of the big amber eyes batting softly in his direction.  
“I am putting my foot down!”  
He told his friend in his most authoritative manner. Ruki curled his hand around Uruha’s throat, fingers caressing that special spot he had discovered when they were twelve years old. Uruha’s eyelids drooped. “I mean it!” He murmured: leaning more heavily into his friend as Ruki’s fingers performed small miracles against his skin. Uruha sighed. “Do you really want this, Ru?”  
“It’s Aoi.”  
Ruki murmured. “And I’ve wanted this for so long. I’m worried that I’ll start a relationship with Kai where I could be really genuinely happy but ruin it because part of me is always haunted by what if…? Help me out one last time, U-ru-ru? Please? One last night before Kai and I start dating.”  
He was weak: Uruha knew it. When it came to his best friend he was all marshmallow squidginess but in his defence, he knew from plenty of past experience that prevention was better than the cure. At least if he got involved then he could gently nudge Ruki away from anything too horrendous.  
“What do you want me to do?”  
He asked with resignation and yelped when Ruki snortled gleefully and hurled himself on top of him, planting such an enthusiastic kiss on his lips that Uruha rather felt like he was being molested by a vacuum cleaner.

“Hunt the sloth by night and place it in the mystical Circle of… what’s this? The mystical Circle of Ooze?”  
Uruha glanced at his friend for confirmation. Ruki blinked.  
“I’m sure it can’t be Ooze. It doesn’t sound terribly mystical, does it? More gross. Probably you should say it with an accent!”  
Ruki struck a pose and adopted a heavy, undeterminable accent. “Ze meeeeestical Ciccle hof Ooooos!”  
Uruha’s lips twitched desperately like they were fighting a frantic battle with his willpower to curve into a full-blown grin.  
“Oh yes, that’s much better.”  
He agreed gravely and Ruki preened.  
“Now! The sloth.”  
“Not many sloths in Osaka.”  
Uruha replied doubtfully. Ruki gnawed on his lower lip.  
“The zoo?”  
He suggested uncertainly. Uruha shot him A Look.  
“Hunt the zoo sloth by night?”  
He asked flatly and Ruki deflated slightly. Suddenly his eyes went wide and Uruha could almost see the light bulb flashing above his head.  
“I have a plan!”  
“Oh, God.”  
“Possibly being arrested and splashed all over tomorrow’s papers as being zoo sloth hunting bastards is not what our PR department is aiming for in today’s world market.”  
Ruki continued with a sweet smile. “Alas, when your public image hinders you from doing what a man should… Improvise!”  
Taking Uruha firmly by the hand they were making a speedy escape when they ran into Reita.  
“Doing anything interesting?”  
He asked amiably, not really listening as he mooched towards the coffee machine.  
“Hunting sloths!”  
“Have fun with that.”  
He was halfway down the corridor when he faltered. “Hunting…? Naw.” Reita shook his head. “I misunderstood. Sloths must be a new style of Armani comfort jeans or something.”  
Nodding thoughtfully he wondered if he really liked the Sloths when the guys came back: if he might get a pair too.

They stood in the middle of the exclusive department store and argued with the assistant.  
“But sir…”  
The poor woman was almost in tears. “They do not make sloth-skin jackets! Their fur is not terribly attractive. Sir would look so handsome in this sable…”  
“How dare you?”  
Ruki yelped. “I am a member of PETA! Would you skin my dog? Would you?”  
Tears welled up in her eyes.  
“No sir, I wouldn’t dream of skinning your dog but… but a sloth is an animal.”  
Ruki opened his mouth and then shut it again. Uruha bit his lip.  
“So for this “hunting the sloth by night” we have no sloth and have to be done by night time?”  
Ruki squared his shoulders and tossed back his hair.  
“Following the instructions word for word is for small-minded provincials!”  
He declared. “We can improvise! Madam, if you will direct us to your fake furs then we will purchase a sable.”  
“Buy the fake sable in the daylight and place it in the mystical Circle of Ooze?”  
Uruha murmured, eyes beginning to sparkle. Ruki shot him a dirty look.  
“Provincial!”  
He hissed, stalking off after the traumatised sales assistant towards the checkout.

The chalk outlines for the mystical Circle of Ooze were sketched out on the dressing room floor, candles lit at the four corners and Ruki was trying to talk Uruha out of his pants.  
“It says naked!”  
Ruki protested, already stripped down with just a brief towel wrapped around his slim hips and attractively mystical designs painted onto his bare skin. “We’ve already altered enough of the recipe Uru. We shouldn’t bend on the nakedness!”  
Still wearing his Calvins and a pair of woolly socks, his hair pulled off his face in little bunches so the face paint wouldn’t get into his hair Uruha was looking mulish.   
“It’s not inconceivable that someone walks in, Ruki. And if they do I do not know how to explain the fact that I’m prancing around a mystical circle with you whilst stark bollock naked!”  
Ruki waved a pot of gold body glitter at him enticingly.  
“I’ll make you look pretty.”  
“You cannot be telling me that the mystic sloth-hunting South American shamans knock up powerful arcane rituals whilst wearing gold disco paint! And do not tell me to improvise!”  
“Do you want me to paint your dick with gold glitter or don’t you?”  
Ruki growled dangerously. Uruha closed his eyes and prayed for the day to end quickly. Dropping his underwear he sighed heavily.  
“Go on then.”  
He mumbled.

“Awoooooo! Sacred spirits!”  
Ruki sang, shimmying around the mystical circle in which the newly purchased sable jacket sat forlornly. Waving his arms in the air as he trotted along behind him Uruha joined in with a supportive, “Awoooo!”  
“Lend us your mighty powers!”  
“Awoooo!”  
“Grant us the awe-inspiring depths of your knowledge!”  
“Awoooo!”  
“We seek the Mantle of Forgetting…”  
“Forgetting. Awoooo!”  
“Five hours of stolen time where mere mortals know not what has taken place.”  
“Awoooo!”  
“And it goes with a little twist like this! Hurrrrrr!”  
Ruki gave a pelvic thrust so vigorous that he almost snapped his spine. Waving the sacred Burning Branch of Oovavu (better known to you and me as strawberry incense) around in the air he threw it dramatically onto the hunted sloth/sable jacket. There was an unexpected flash of light and outside, sheet lightning flashed through the dark Osakan skies.  
“Shee-it!”  
Ruki exclaimed, impressed. “Fuck me, it worked!”  
The jacket was glowing faintly with violet light. Uruha stared at it with wide eyes.  
“Seriously?”  
Ruki took the coat gingerly and the violet glow intensified, crawling up his arm until his whole frame was glowing faintly. Suddenly it was gone, as were the designs painted onto his skin. There was only porcelain pale skin wrapped up in black fur, his black and red hair curling around his collar, amber eyes glowing uncanny amethyst. Uruha swallowed hard. “You have five hours with Aoi that he’ll never remember. I’ll distract Kai. When the five hours are up, make sure that you’re done doing anything to Aoi that he needs to forget, the coat will take care of the rest.”  
Ruki smiled and kissed him softly on the lips.  
“Thank you.”  
He was just walking out of the door when Uruha said softly,  
“This is wrong, you know?”  
Ruki hesitated for a moment but didn’t turn around.  
“I know.”  
He replied quietly, then shut the door behind him.

The private room at the club was for serious romancing or privacy. There was a table set up with an ice bucket of chilled champagne and various nibbles, and a huge sofa upholstered in black leather. Wearing white trousers and a white cobwebbed lace shirt, his sable hair hanging loose, Aoi waited impatiently. Turning at the soft noise of the door opening with a predatory expression he faltered. Wrapped in sable, bare, white feet sinking into the plush black carpet Ruki smiled, his hair hanging silken soft over his eyes.  
“Am I something you’d remember, Aoi?”  
Aoi blinked as though trying to clear a haze. He licked suddenly dry lips.  
“Who could ever forget this?”  
Catching hold of the smaller man he backed up until his knees hit the sofa, sitting down and pulling Ruki with him to straddle his thighs. The coat fell apart and Aoi groaned softly, his flesh rising. He put his hands beneath the coat, sliding over the other’s hot, soft skin until Ruki was shaking with arousal, mewling softly as Aoi pulled him closer and began to place little nibbling kisses across his throat. “Kami-Sama, I’m never going to forget this.”  
Aoi groaned as Ruki began to shift his hips on top of him. Ruki slid his hands through the thick, glossy black hair, gazing deep into deep, dark eyes.  
“Neither will I.”  
He whispered.

Kai finished rubbing the deep heat gel into his sore wrists and hands, sighing softly as he felt it beginning to work. Stretching out on the bed and clicking on the TV he wondered where Ruki was tonight. He’d been about to suggest that they do something together; a meal or whatever Ruki wanted to do but the vocalist had been wrapped up with Uruha all day, whispering and Kai knew them well enough to keep his distance: he really didn’t want to know what they were planning now. A smile lit up his face. Dating Ruki was likely to be exhausting, frustrating, exasperating but Kai was willing to forego a long and peaceful life for even a year of burning like a torch as he did whenever Ruki was around. He was so totally lost in him… Kai’s eyes got heavy, staying closed for longer and longer until he slept and dreamed of the other man.

He woke with a start, the light from the TV illuminating Ruki as he sat at the end of the bed. Kneeling up his lover slowly shimmied his shoulders, the sable fur slithering down his body like it was alive to pool around his legs. Wide-eyed, Kai watched as he slowly crawled towards him over the mattress.  
“What is it about you…?”  
Ruki murmured as he flowed over Kai’s body. “…That I forgot I ever wanted anyone else.”  
Kai smiled. Grasping his lover around the waist he rolled them over and gazed down at his flushed-face lover.  
“Sometimes you find your perfect fit, and it’s so right that nothing in the world could convince you that you’re meant to be with someone else.”  
He said softly. Ruki wrapped his legs around him and ran his feet teasingly up and down Kai’s calves. They fit together perfectly and as Ruki tangled his hands in Kai’s hair and pulled his head down to fuse their lips together the final magic took place and he realised what he had felt for Aoi had only been a shadow of this.  
Kissing him, feeling his hands on his body, it was what he had wanted for so long. Ruki faltered. It wasn’t quite the explosive thing that he had spent so long imagining. Breaking away from Aoi’s lips for a moment he looked at him and saw a very dear friend looking back at him. He’d been chasing him for so long maybe it had become all about the conquest rather than the emotion that had led him to start running in the first place. Ruki pulled back and Aoi reached out for him, confused.  
“Ruki?”  
“You won’t remember this.”  
He told him. “And I for one am very relieved about it because that is one painful looking boner you have to deal with Aoi but… Aw, fucking hell. I’m in love with our drummer and I really shouldn’t be here with you now.”  
And scooting off Aoi’s lap he swept out of the room in a cloud of sable fur.

Aoi’s eyes glazed over, his expression becoming oddly blank before it suddenly cleared. Looking around the private room in confusion he looked down at his straining erection in amazement.  
“What the hell…?”  
He mumbled. Getting to his feet and adjusting his painfully constrictive trousers he pulled out his cell phone and dialled one of the numbers on speed dial. “Hey.”  
He said softly. “I’ve found myself in a private room with no one to share it with. How about you come over and help me drink this champagne?”

There was a soft rap at the door and Aoi opened it; a smile beginning in his dark eyes and spreading to his sensual lips. A calloused hand reached out and caught hold of his belt buckle, pulling him in against the slightly taller frame. Aoi wrapped his arms around his waist and pressed their bodies together. The two kissed hungrily, hands exploring and they stumbled backwards, shutting the door firmly behind them.  
“Nice room.”  
Reita rasped. Aoi shrugged.  
“I don’t remember a damn thing about how I hired it but rather than whining about my amnesia I think I’ll just enjoy it.”  
Reita grinned.  
“That’s what I love about you, Aoi: so focused on getting off that even brain injury comes second.”

Uruha watched Ruki leave and Reita arrive with a small smile. Everything was as it should be. Now maybe Uruha might finally have a little time to focus on his own damn love life. Pulling out his phone he dialled a number.  
“Saga.”  
He purred. “You never did show me that thing you said you can do with your tongue.”


End file.
